"Blake?!" Ruby practically screeched as she realized just who helped her earlier.
The now named Blake looked over to her, "Hello Ruby, have you been treating my Master well?"
Ruby sputtered a bit, "He's not yours Blake! I'm the one that's engaged to him so he's mine!" she pouted adorably in an attempt to glare at the cat Faunus.
Richard chose this moment to get over the shock of being hugged suddenly by someone he didn't expect to see.
"Well Blake, your sudden appearance is quite a surprise, but a welcome one to be sure. Do you mind releasing me from my confinement to yourself?" He asked as Ruby tried to pry her off.
"Of course."
Blake quickly released her hold of Richard and in the process caused Ruby to stumble backward a few feet before landing on her posterior.
"Blake! You did that on purpose!" She exclaimed.
The cat Faunus blinked and turned to the little rose, "Master ordered me to let go of him, it's not my fault you were pulling on me."
"What? Of course it was! I wouldn't have been pulling on you if you hadn't been attached to him!"
"Well, I was excited to see him! I hadn't expected him to be here and I was surprised he was!"
"But I'm the one that's engaged to Richie! Therefore you need my permission to get intimate with him!"
The subject of the argument interrupted it, "Alright girls please! The night is beginning to age and we all must get what rest we can while we can, lest tomorrow's initiation be a failure for us all."
The two girls in front of him glared at each other for a few seconds before relenting.
Blake bowed, "As you wish Master."
"Fine." Ruby said as she crossed her arms, "But I require a platter of cookies in the morning before initiation as compensation."
Richard smiled and stuck his hand under her hood and gently rubbed the top of her head in-between her lupine ears. Her response was to reach up and hold his wrist as she closed her eyes and smiled.
"Ahem."
The little moment was cut short by Blake as she looked at the ground in embarrassment, "Master, m-may I have head pats too?"
Richard reached out a hand and gently did the same to her, except under a bow instead of a hood.
Ruby, in response, gripped Richard's wrist tighter than before.
Richard ignored Ruby's possessiveness and took his hands off of both their heads, earning him a sad whine and the ceasing of purrs.
'Thank God above they're not like this around other people,' Richard thought, 'otherwise no one would take them seriously.'
"Well, I think it's time we prepared our beds, we must rise quite early tomorrow I believe." He said.
The two girls next to him nodded in agreement.
He and Ruby sat just outside their tents, one for Jaune and Richard, and the other for Yang and Ruby. Blake had left to prepare her own sleeping arrangements, while Yang and Jaune were doing their own things in their tents.
"So, how do you think partners are formed?" Ruby asked, her cloak still on over her pajamas.
Richard glanced up at her from his book, she had his C96 in neatly organized pieces on the ground in front of her and was cleaning them.
"I haven't heard anything about that," he admitted, "perhaps we get to choose our own partners? Or maybe we are simply assigned."
Ruby momentarily gave him a look of panic.
"Don't worry Little Rose," he used her nickname and placed his hand on her thigh to calm her, "I'm sure we'll be fine."
"Alright…" she said after a second. She was a wonderful budding socialite back in Berlin, but she was totally out of her element in a place like Beacon. The cultures were simply too different to allow the same actions that she would have done in Prussia to happen there.
"Master!" A sudden cry rang out as Blake returned and wrapped her arms and legs around him, causing Ruby to start fuming.
"Blake!" She cried, "Stop touching my hubby!"
Blake ceased her snuggling and glared at her, "He's mine too! I'll touch him as much as I want."
They argued back and forth for a few minutes with the Crown Prince in-between them, until Jaune came out of his tent and 'suggested' that they all go to bed as they had begun to disturb the peace of the ballroom.
"You!" A shrill voice called out at the group. Ruby jumped into Richard's arms in fright.
"Do you have any respect for the people in this room trying to sleep?!" She scoffed, "Probably the same amount as you have sense for interacting with Dust!"
"Rrrrraaaaagggghhhh!" Yang roared as she burst out of her and Ruby's tent, "Will you guys shut up already?! I'm trying to sleep!"
Weiss' mouth was agape, "How dare you talk to me in such a way! Do you know who I am!?"
Professor Goodwitch promptly arrived to silence the disruptive argument.
The next morning, the Prussians were awoken by the cry of, "Wake up lazy butt!".
Richard sat up quickly, "Hey, I'm not lazy!" he exclaimed in a sleepy daze.
A quick glance around the tent showed that the only other occupant, Jaune, was only just beginning to wake up himself, judging by how he rolled over and groaned into his pillow,.'That was for someone else then,' Richard thought as he quickly shed his pajamas and replaced them with his unteruniform, which was just his Cuirassier uniform without the cuirass.
Richard exited the tent as Jaune finally got up, outside, the cause of his own awakening appeared to be a rather energetic girl with orange hair and a much calmer young man with long black hair. He seemed to be immune to the shenanigans of his friend, given that he barely reacted as she sped around him, rambling about how excited she was that they had been accepted, and how they could partner up.
A quick look at the rest of the room showed that most of the other students had left for breakfast already. Richard tugged on the chain of his jacket that led to his watch just as Jaune left the tent.
"I wonder where the girls are," he spoke.
Richard put his watch away, "I supposed they've already left for breakfast like most everyone else," he looked back to Jaune, "We didn't eat dinner so I certainly wouldn't be surprised if they did."
Jaune nodded, "Well, sounds like they had good judgment then, I'm famished." He quickly began to walk towards the cafeteria as he spoke, with Richard close behind.